Previous Story
Rafa’s success mantra: Work hard and work with right people
Posted On Dec 10 2015
Comment: Off
Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal was in the national capital on Thursday.
Asked how it feels to play for a foreign team on his own soil, Paes said,”I would love to play for India”.
While a mere six days of IPTL play can hardly change a person’s deep-rooted habits, it could perhaps open Nadal’s mind to the idea of serving faster – something he has admittedly been trying to work on but has yet to make real progress in. Sania said that the players are backing it and for each of them the league is a great concept. “It’s my first year in the league and my contribution has been good. I’ve been able to win my sets, but its not translated into wins for the team”, he said.
There were a few glimpses of his previous best, notably when pulling off a comprehensive victory over Andy Murray at the season-ending ATP World Finals. While confirming that he had signed on for a third season of IPTL tennis, Paes left the proverbial ball in Micromax India Aces and its decision makers’ court by reiterating his desire to play for the home team.
“I need to keep going the same way that I finished the 2015 season”.
“I met the owners and the sponsors and they said that they (team) are winning but still losing the men’s doubles set”. That being said, the Indian team won the IPTL last year and when they did so, they wanted to play with their same team from last year.
“The rivalry with Roger has been great for a lot of years and we hope to play more matches”. When that came up, I still wanted to play for the Indian team. So I said “just speak up then'”. It will be a professional academy with a school inside to try to help kids become better tennis players. “If you see the way IPL has transformed cricket in the nation or the world, IPTL is doing same with Tennis”, said Paes at the post-match press conference at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi here on Thursday.
“The only thing I can advise is that try to have right people around you, who know about the sport, who really support you and try to help you reach your best level, practise everyday with motivation and passion”.
